Door brace and guide mechanism



Oct. 17, 1933.

Filed July 23, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 [N VENTOR BY 17W Jeu /vwa ATTORNEYS Oct. 17, 1933. E. H. McCLOUD 1,931,166

DOOR BRACE AND GUiDE MECHANISM I Filed July 23, 1950 4 shuts-sheet 2 Flv2 INVENTOR EDWARD ,H- M- CLOUD; 4| BY ,7 25 c ATTORNEYS Oct. 17, 1933.EH. McCLOUD DOOR BRACE AND GUIDE MECHANISM Filed July 23, 1930 4Sheets-Sheet 3 IiII 1 [N VENTOR EDWJED H. NE. CL OUD.

A TTORNE VS Patented- Oct. 17, 1933 mm. sr A-T lnoon Bunch GUIDE EdwardH. McCloud, Columbus, Ohio,assignor to The Kinnear ManufacturingCompany, Columbus, Ohio, acorporation of Ohio fappuu uon' July 2:, 930.seria ly; 4 9995 49cm. (ciao-2o)- It is also an object :of thisinvention tolprovide, in connection with a reenforcing bar; guidemeansadapted to support the door in the process 10 of opening an.lclosing and inxan open condition.

It is a further object of this invention to provide, in connection witha door composed of sections, means for pivotally attaching. one sectionto another, and provide in connection with said pivotal means, means forguiding the door in the process of opening and closing,- and means forpreventing the saggin or misformation during andbecause of itssuspendedcondition overhead. It is also an object of vthisinvention toprovide in connection with the hingesthat connect-the door sections,shafts which have .on the ends thereof rollers engaging a supportingmember. These rollers are supported on the shafts so that there is alimited amount of movement longitudinally of the shafts as well asaround the shafts. It is also an object of this invention to provide atransversely disposed reenforcing bar formed of sheet metal in the shapeof an inverted, U, with the open part thereof adjacent the door and withone end permanently attached adjacent one side of the door and the otherend attached to the other side of the door in such a manner thatadjustment may be made. These and further advantages will appear 3 fromthe following description taken inconnection with the drawings. a

Referring to the'drawings: Figure l is a front elevation of the doorshowing its manner of mounting in the passagewa in the wall of abuilding. Figure 2 is a vertical section through the door and part ofthe wall of a building.

nlar ew of the left- Flgure 3 is an e gedfront vi -tached to the door abracket 10., This bracket hand lower corner of the door shown in Figure1.

Figure 4 is 'a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 3. y Y I Figure 5 is anenlarged viewshowing the central bracket member found in the lowerend'of the door as shown in Figure 1. Figure 6 is a vertical sectionthrough part of Figure 5 but at right angles thereto.

Figure 7 is an enlarged section on the line showing arollermountedtherein.

Figure 8 is, a longitudinal section on tlr 'e linev 8-8 of Figure;7.,iFigure 9 is a section on the 1i ne]9-=.9-of wFigure8.-.

1 10 is a sectiOn on -the line l0 lll;of

Figure ll -is a section through one of..the

rollers showing its manner of mounting on'the :shaft of oneof thehinges."v

Figure 12 is a section through a guidernember e5 mechanism is adapted tobeusedfiniconnection with garages, 'repairjs hops' and other similarplaces, and is supported. bythe' wall-.1

of a building. In this building there is ad rway 2, which is to beclosed by means ofla verti-' I cal door which is adapted to be; movedupwardly and toassume a horizontal position zabove; the

doorway duringthe time that the doorway is being used. 1

In this operation of the door the door is supported on eachfside.bymeans ofa guide memberaThe vertical part of thisgui'delrnember isindicated by the-numeral. 3, the curved part by the numeral" 4 and thehorizontal overhead a0 partby the numeral 5,. All of these parts'tosether constitute a", single guide memberfforming a continuous runwayin which the rollers move. rjtAttached to the wall of the buildingad-Jacent the, DPe r side o'f] the doorwayfis [a a6- bracket fi.Therefisone of these bracketson each side of thedoo'r, and it isattached to the wall by any suitable means. 7 At. the lower .end of thebracket there" is a downwardly inclined slot 7 which terminates in a'substantially'verticalpocket 7a. .The-door used for closing-thedoorwayis formed-01a largenumber of panels 8. In the present instancethere are fouro'f thesepanels shown, one pivotedto' the otherjto form,the 96 complete door. .These panels'areconnectedto one anotherby meansofliingesjQJv Oneach side of the upper section or panel there. is atmaybeattached tothe door by means of bolts 100 or screws. Extending fromthe lower end of the bracket is an arm .11 which has on the outer endthereof a. roller 12 for engagementwith the lowerpartof the bracket 6wlthin the :slot Tand seat 7a when the door is. being closed andisclosed. i A the door panel, showing tbe bracket shown in On the upperend of the bracket thereis pivotally mounted an arm 13L This arm ispivoted to the bracket 10 at one fend has on erated mechanism forassisting in opening the door;

'14 fits and moves along the guide members in the process of opening andclosing the door.

Extending from each of the hinges 9 is an extension shaft 15, which hason the outer end thereof a roller 16 which is located within the .guidemember for the'purpose of supportingthe door and its panels, and for thepurpose of guiding the parts of the door during the process of openingand closing. When the door is closed these rollers are in the verticalpart of the guide member. As the door is opened they shift from one partof the guide member to another "until they finally assume positions inthe horizontal part of theguide member. In this position the door isfully open and supported overhead. 1

For the purpose of assistingin opening and closing the door there isprovided a spring 17, as indicated in Figure 1. This spring, whichservesas a counterweight, is attached at one end 18 to a suitable part of thewall Just above the doorway and to one side thereof. At the other end ofthe spring are" two pulleys'19. Ad-

jacent the point .18 where the spring is attached to the wall there islocated on the wall a pulley 19a. On the wall across the doorway fromthe pulley l9 are two pulleys, 20 and 21, located and supported on aplate 23"suitably attached'to some part' of the wallor to one of thebracket members 6. V I

Attached to the lower end at one side of 'the door is a cable. or rope22. This cable extends upwardly from the righthand lower corner of thedoor, as shown in Figure 1, over pulley 20 and around one of the pulleys19 to a screw eye 21a, by which it is adjustably attached to the walladjacent the pulleys 20'and 21. Attached to the lower lefthand corner ofthe door is one end of a second rope or cable 22o, which "passes up overpulley 19a, around pulley 21 and around the other pulley 19 to a screweye 20a, by which the other'end of the rope or'cable is adjustablyattached to the wall adjacent the pulleys 20 and 21. The tension of thespring tends to draw the door up'and assist in opening it. -When thedoor is fully opened the pulleys 19' are nearer to the pulley 19a thanthey are as'shown in Figure 1. By this arrangement of pulleys, springsand rope there is provided a compact, conveniently locatedcounterbalance spring op- In orderto facilitate the movement ofthe doorand provide means for grasping'it'by the hand there is a loop 24. Theremay be as many of these loops as are necessary. This loop may 'be usedfor both opening andclosing the door.

In order to further assistin opening-thedoor there may be provided atread member 25 lofcated on the extreme lower edge of thedoor.

For the purpose of securing the door in locked position there isprovided, as shown inFi gure 1,

a lock 26. This lock is placed on one side 'of one of the panels and hasa plunger adapted to fit through a hole in the wall of one of the guidemembers. While there is only onelock member shown there may be. anynumber used. A chain 27 is used for raising and loweringthe door.

Each hinge 9 is composedof two leaves 28 and 29. Each leaf '28 has onone end thereof a pair of spaced ears 30, while each leaf 29 has on oneend thereof a pair of ears 31. Each of these ears has a hole extendingtherethrough in which the shaft 15 fits. 'This shaft operates to holdthe leaves together to form a complete hinge. In order to preventlongitudinal m0ve-.

hinge is constructed and operates alike so the following description,while it applies to one particular'hinge, applies equally to all thehinges :used in connection with this door.

. On the reduced part of the shaft 15 is a bearing ring 34. This bearingring is mounted upon the part 33 so that it may or may not rotatetherewith but will have a sliding movement along the reduced part. onthe outer end of the shaft is a pin 36, which prevents the bearing ring34 from running off the shaft. This bearing ring 34 has a'racewaytherein. I I

The roller'16 has in the center thereof a relatively large: openingw-hich has a flange 3'7 at one side of theroller. "and abutting againstthesifiangeis an annular bearing ring 38, which cooperates with theWithin this opening bearing ring 34 to form a'ball race in, which balls39 are located for anti friction purposes. In 'order to hold the bearingring 38 properly positioned in relation to the roller 16there is'providedan annular plate-.40, which fits in Ia recess in "onesidef'ofthe roller and. engages both of thebearing rings so that theyare firmly held in position with relation toeach other, and

with relation to the bodyof the roller. By this -means 'the roller mayeasily rotate around the shaft and the bearing ring .34; and move longi-'tudinally of the shaft .;with thev bearing ring 34 but cannot movelongitudinallyof theshaft without the bearing .ring 38. By this: meansthere is permitted a slight, sidewise movement of the door or one: partof the doorwith respect to another part withoutjamming, or pinching.This free-movement .of the, roller on the shaft also permits a slightvariation-in the guide member without pinching orbinding. 1 7

For the. purpose of strengthening the door and preventing its sagging,as when in an overhead, suspended condition; there is provided atransverse reenforcing bar 41. This bar is U- shaped -and is attachedateach end by means of eye members to the lower leaves of the hinges, orto other suitable plate members. One eye member-42 is permanentlyanchored to one side of the door to either a lower leaf of a hinge or toa'separate plate membensuch as that shown in the lower righthand cornerofthe door. This eye member is attached to the door by means of boltsand nuts 43.1 In. one end of the'eye member is a suitable holeoropening.

'- For the purpose of. uniting one end of the reenforcing bar to the eyememberthere is a hole through ,the. sidewalls of the transversesupporting bar inline with. theholes. in the eye member. .The, edges of,these holes are bent in, as indicated by,the numeral 44, and closelygrip around the inside ofth'hole'infthe eye and form for the eye abearing closely fitting and almost entirely surrounding the innersurface of the eye.

In order'to securely hold these parts in the position shown in Figure 10a suitable bolt 45- is provided. This bolt' has-the usual head and nut.Adjacent the head andth'e nut are washers 46, the cooperatingfacesofwhich are conical in shape and adapted'to closely engage. the

turned-in parts of the transverse bar around the holes therein so thatthoughpressure be aptermediate hinge,

plied to the eye members the walls around the holes in the sides of theU-shaped transverse reenforcing member will not be straightened out butwill be firml'yheld in position,fowing' to the peculiar shape of thewashers. Each end of the transverse reenforcing bar is provided with asimilar means by which the 'eye members are attached thereto. However,the eye member on the lefthand side of the door, as shown in Figure 3,instead of being anchored or fastened permanently to the edge of. thedoor isfastened to a plate or hinge member by means of a screw and nutmember 47. By this means the reenforcing bar may be tightened and hcldfirmly against the door to prevent the sagging thereof. In Figures .3and 10 the eye members are shown attached to plates located in the lowercorners of the door. Plate 48, sh'own in Figure 10, is located in thelower righthand corner of the door, whileplate 49 is attached to the.lower lefthand corner of the door. These 'plates'in the presentlocations take the place ofthe lower leaves of the hinges forsupporting. the eye members, because in the present location there'areno hinges. From these plates also extend shafts 15, which have on theends thereof the rollers 16, such as shown in Figure 11. In all placesexcept the ends of the door the transverse reenforcing bar is attachedat. each end to the lower leaf of a hinge, as clearly shown ih Figure 1;V In order to support the intermediate part of the transversereenforcing bar there is "provided at each end of the door a U-shapedbracket member 50. This member its over the intermediate part of the barand prevents its sagging, and also holds it in close contact with thedoor. The other transverse reenforcing members are supportedintermediate their ends by U-shaped loops 51in the lower leaf of an'in-There is also. provided a bracketmember 52 attached to the doorintermediate the ends of the reenforcing bar for projecting into thechannel part of the U-shaped member. This internal bracket 52 may beused alone or it may be used in connection 'withthe brackets 50 and theloops 51 of the hinges. v bracket within the U-shaped transverse bartends to preserve the shape of the transverse bar and prevent anywobbling or unnecessary vibration thereof.

In the position shown in Figure 1 the door is in a closedcondition. Inorder to .open the door the hand loop 24 is seized, the door is liftedup and caused to follow the guide or trackway 5. In this operation theoperator isassisted by means of the spring 1'7, which tends to elevatethe door. After the door has assumed a horizontal position, thetransverse reenforcing bars prevent the central part of the door fromsagging. In case the transverse bars should become loose they may betightened by means of the nuts 4'7 on the ends of the adjustable eyes,and in order to facilitate and make easy the operation of the door andto diminish the tendency to pinch or bind, the rollers on the ends:v

of the shaft are loosely mounted so that there may be a certain amountof lateral movement of the rollers in relation to the door.

I All of the parts of this door are separate and distinct from theothers and may be easily replaced when they become worn or broken.

within my claims and the scope of my invention.

Having thus fully described myinvention, what I claim is new and desirer to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In an overhead door, means fol-"supporting the door, areenforcing barfor said door, means for pivotally anchoring .one endof said bar. to thedoor, and means for adjustablyattaching the other end of said bar to'thedoor.

2. in an overhead door formed of sections united to one another byhinges, a reenforcing barfor said door, means to anchorone end of the"bar to'a hinge, and adjustable. means for atta'ching the other end ofsaid bar to another hinge.

3. In an overhead door formed of sections hinged to one another, areenforcing bar for each section, a plate at each end of the bar, aroller supported by each plate, means for anchorlng one end of said barto oneplate, and

means for adjustably connecting the other end of the bar to the otherplate. .1 1

- 4. In an overhead door formed of pivotally connected sections incombination with guide means, a plate at each side of each section,antifriction means supported by each plate engaging the guide means, anda reenforcing bar pivotally attached to one plate andadjustablyuattached to the other plate.

In an overhead door formed of sections united to one another by leafhinges. a U- shaped reenforcing bar extending across certain of'thesections with'each end attached .to one leaf of a hinge, and'one leaf ofanother hinge bent into a U-shaped'bracket tofiti' over-the reenforcingbar and support an intermediate part thereof.

6. In an overhead door formed of sections united to one another by leafhinges'in combination with guideways, arollerattached to each hinge toengage the guideways for guiding and supporting the door, a reenforcingbar for each section anchored at one end .to a leaf of a hinge andadjustably attached I at its other end to a leaf of another hinge. I

"'1. In an overheaddoor, in combination with a pair of guides, a pairof. door sections, a pair of leaf hinges uniting the adjacent ends-ofthe sectionsfeachhinge having a shaft witha roller engaging a guide, areenforcing bar attached to a leaf of each hinge andextendingacross'the' door, and another leaf hinge unitingthersectionsand forming a support for the reenforcing bar and anadditional leaf hinge uniting the sections and forming the support forthe reinforcing" bar. I v

8. In an overhead door, in combination with a pair of guide membersleafhingesunitin g the adjacent ends of the sections, each hinge having ashaft with a roller engaging a guide member,

and a reenforcing bar anchored at one'endto.

aleaf of one hinge and adjustably attached at its other end to a leaf ofthe other hinge.

9. In an overhead door, in combination with a pair of guide members, aleaf hinge uniting each pair of adjacent ends of the sections, and

a third leaf hinge uniting the intermediate parts of the sections, eachend hinge having a shaft with a roller engaging a guide member, and areenforcing bar attached ateach end to a leaf of a hinge and the thirdhinge having a leaf looped over the intermediate part of the bar to holdthe bar and the door together.

10. In an overhead door, in combination with a pair of guide members, aleaf hinge uniting each pair of adjacent ends of the sections and thesections, each end hinge having a shaft with a roller engaging a guidemember, and a reenforcing baranchored at one end to a leaf of one endhinge and adjustably attached at its other end to a leaf of the otherend hinge and having a 'leaf of the t ird hinge looped over the intermediate part thereof to hold the bar and the door together, 11. In anoverhead door, in combination with a pair of guide members, a plateattached to each side of the door, a shaft on-each plate, a rollermounted on each shaft for longitudinal movement thereon and engaging aguide and a reenforcing bar pivotally attached to one plate andadjustably attached to the other plate adapted to keep the door fromsagging.

12. In a door, an eye member attached to each side of the door, and aU-shaped reenforcing bar, each end of thebar fitting over. an eye memberand having therethrough a hole in line with the eye and the materialaround the hole pressed 'jnto the eye to serve as a bearing for the eye.

18. In a door, an eye member attached to each sideof the door, aU-shaped metal reenforcing bar, each end of the bar fitting over an eyemember and having therethrough a hole in line .with the eye and themetal around the hole led thereon, a plate connected to said anchor 16.In combination, a door, an anchor mounted thereon, a plate connected tosaid anchor adaptedto engage the face of the door continuouslythroughout the width thereof, an adjusting means on the other side ofthe door fromthe anchor connected to said plate to draw the plateagainst the face of the door, said plate having a pair of spaced bearingfaces engaging said door and said anchor, and adjusting means beingconnected to said plate in spaced relationship from the face of thedoor,whereby said bearing faces are caused to press against the face of thedoor to maintain it in alignment.

ed thereon, a plate connected to said anchor adapted to engage the faceof the door continuously throu hout the width thereof, an adjustingmeans on the other side of the door from the anchor "connected to said.plate to draw the plate against the face of the door, said plate havinga pair of spaced bearing faces engaging said door andesaid anchor,adjusting means being connected to said plate in spaced relationshipfrom the face of the'door, wherebysaid bearing facesarecaused to pressagainst theface of the door to maintain it in alignment, and aninteranchor connected to said plate todraw the plate against the face ofthe door, said plate having a pair of spaced bearing faces engaging saiddoor and said anchor, adjusting means being connected to said plate inspaced relationship from the face of the door, whereby said bearingfaces are caused to press against the face of the door to maintain it inalignment, an intermediate clamping member mounted on said do'orandencircling said plate to prevent its intermediate movement away from thecenter of the doorpand hinge members connected to said anchor,intermediate plate and adjusting meansfor hinging to the door anothersection thereof. v 19. In combination, a door, an anchor mountedthereon, a plateconnected to said anchor adapted to engage the face ofthe door continuously throughoutthe width thereof, an adjusting means onthe other side of the door from the anchor connected to saiiplate todraw the. plate against the face of the door,-said plate having a pairof spaced bearing'facesengaging said door and said anchor, adjustingmeans .ibeing connected to said plate in spaced relationship from theface of the door, whereby said bearing faces are caused to press againstthe face of 'the door to maintain it in alignment, an intermediateclamping member mounted on said door and encircling said 'plate toprevent its intermediate movement'away from the center of the door,hinge members connected to said anchor, intermediate plate and adjustingmeans for hinging to the door another section thereof,

and pivot members for said hinges forming the anchor and adjusting meansextending beyond the sides of' the door, and slidable rollers mounted onsaid pivots beyond the margins of said door.

' EDWARD H. McCLOUD.

17. In combination, a door, an anchor mount-

